A statewide organization that recognizes excellence in early education, ExceleRate Illinois, has named Evanston’s Learning Bridge Early Education Center (formerly the Child Care Center of Evanston) as a recipient of its Award of Excellence for Preschool Teaching and Learning.
Only six percent of all for-profit and not-for-profit preschool centers in the state have achieved this award, according to Lindsay Percival, executive director of Learning Bridge.
Located in a large Victorian home at the corner of Emerson Street and Asbury Avenue, Learning Bridge was established in 1944 as an aid to Evanston mothers who had taken jobs outside the home while their husbands were fighting overseas.
The Child Care Center of Evanston was renamed Learning Bridge Early Education Center earlier this year. With five classrooms for 95 students and six home daycare providers serving 22 infants and toddlers, the organization is the longest standing, largest, and most comprehensive early learning center in Evanston, according to its website.